Psychology & Buddhism.pdf

Buddhism, Psychology, and Addiction Theory 119
dysfunctional actions. In psychoanalytic theory, recovery is achieved through the
catharsis that results from insight and the release from early life fixations. The
addict in insight-oriented psychotherapy is able to identify the underlying causes
of their addiction such as frustrated oral incorporative strivings. In each instance,
Buddhist practice and dynamic therapy, insight leads to understanding and more
functional behavior.
Similarly, from a cognitive behavioral perspective, a commonality with
Buddhist theories is found in the attempt to explicate the cognitive dysfunctional
reinforcers that the individual must address in order to overcome the addictive
process. Cognitive Behaviorists suggest that the dysfunction of one’s thoughts
can lead to emotional dysfunction such as found in addiction. Nichiren Daishonin
also speaks to the importance of one’s mind. “While deluded, one is called a common
mortal, but once enlightened, he is called a Buddha ... A mind which
presently is clouded by illusions originating from the innate darkness of life is
like a tarnished mirror, but once it is polished it will become clear, reflecting the
enlightenment of immutable truth” (the Gosho Translation Committee, 1979,
pp. 4, 5). Thus, one’s cognitions are key factors in healthy and enlightened functioning.
In each instance, the practice of therapy and the practice of Buddhism
purify one’s thinking and modify behavior to enable evolution and growth
thereby enhancing the quality of life.
Ross (1991) writes about a Tibetan Buddhist framework for psychology,
enlightening the concept of possession from Buddhist and psychological perspectives.
He indicates that in transpersonal psychology and Buddhism, identification
with and attachment to both external and internal objects is considered a major
source of suffering. He makes the analogy between possessing and addictive
craving, indicating that in Tibetan Buddhism as in psychotherapy, the pathway to
mental health is a process of cutting through materialism in all its variations to
uncover a clear, egoless “awakened state of mind”. He further distinguishes the
state of being free from possessions as not an eschewing of material objects, love
or relationships, but rather a neurotic preoccupation that motivates us to chase
them, believing that in their possession we will find lasting happiness (p. 421).
Thus, the path to mental health and an awakened state of mind can be seen as quite
parallel if not synonymous.
Spirituality and Recovery
In order to recover one must achieve a higher life condition; break the
cycling back through craving and satiation, and move oneself from control by the
destructive impulsivity of the four lower worlds. Traditional spiritual aspects of
recovery suggest that one must “surrender” to one’s powerlessness over the
addiction in order to break the cycle of the false sense of omnipotence, which is